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Let Union Be

from The Bricktop Tapes by Whistling Treason

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about

A song about drinking and good company. This one popped into my head on a late night trip round Santiago in Galicia not long ago, and I knew I was going to have to learn it properly and record a version. It may get some banjo and fiddle on it. It was collected by Alfred Williams in Ogbourne, Wiltshire, and appears in Folk Songs of the Upper Thames. As a Wiltshire lad and boatman I consider this song to be home turf.

lyrics

Come my lads, now let's be jolly
Drive away dull melancholy,
For to grieve it is a folly
When we're met together.

Chorus (after each verse):
Let union be in all our hearts,
And let our hearts be joined as one.
We'll end the day as we began,
We'll end it all in pleasure.
Whack-folla-rolla-rye, too-ra-lie-doe (3x)
When we're met together.

Solomon in all his glory
Told each wife a different story,
In our cups we'll sing and glory
When we're met together.

Eating and drinking, they're so charming,
Dancing and piping there's no harm in.
All these things we'll take delight in
When we're met together.

Grab the bottle as it passes,
Do not fail to fill your glasses.
Water drinkers are dull arses
When we're met together.

Cease from quarreling and fighting,
Evil-speaking and backbiting.
All these things take no delight in
When we're met together.

credits

from The Bricktop Tapes, released August 3, 2014
All instruments and by Whistling Treason
Recorded at Dog & Lion Studios
Trad / Arr Whistling Treason

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about

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Whistling Treason Bristol, UK

Dubplate-folk, Soundsystem Trad, Acoustic or Valve Powered, Global Confusion. Whatever I feel like.

As guitarist with RSVP Bhangra and Malarchy, I've played countless major festivals across Britain and Europe, including Glastonbury & Womad.

What started out as a strictly folk project has expanded wildly, to incorporate tunes from around the world, original compositions, and a whole lot of dub. ... more

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